Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

March 24th, 2023

Good morning, and happy Friday! We’ve got some bad news for Camaro fans: General Motors announced that production for the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro will officially come to an end after the 2024 model year. While GM says this isn’t the end of the Camaro, Chevy is apparently sending it out in style with a limited production collector’s edition…which could be interesting. If you have (or ever had) a Camaro, tell us what you think!

In Today’s Brief

Montenegro: Fugitive arrested
Canada: Border deal with U.S.
Yankees: Most valuable MLB team
Walmart: Laying off fulfillment workers

...and more

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Top Tips

TikTok CEO testifies

Shou Zi Chew, CEO of the video-based social media app TikTok, testified before Congress for the first time yesterday.

Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce pressed Chew on topics such as data collection on the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. In response, Chew claimed that TikTok’s data collection practices were no different from those of other tech companies and attempted to sell lawmakers on “Project Texas,” TikTok’s proposal to restructure so that its U.S. user data is stored with American software company Oracle in Austin, Texas.

Since TikTok is owned by a Chinese corporation, U.S. officials say Beijing could use the app to collect private data and have warned ByteDance to relinquish its stake in the app’s U.S. operations or face a ban. Over a dozen countries have instituted full or partial bans on TikTok, which Chew testified now has over 150M active monthly users in the U.S.

Accenture job cuts

Technology consulting company Accenture yesterday said it would cut 19K jobs, or about 2.5% of its global workforce.

During the fiscal year ending February 2023, Accenture said it increased its workforce by 38K positions to serve the increased demand for its services and solutions. Per an SEC filing, the layoffs will occur in the next 18 months and more than half of the jobs to be cut will be in the company’s "non-billable corporate functions." In a press release, Accenture also adjusted its forecast for annual revenue growth, with a new target of between 8-10% compared to the previous projection of an 8-11% increase.

Accenture is the latest company in the tech sector to announce layoffs. Earlier this week, Amazon announced that it would lay off another 9K employees, bringing its total job cuts since January to 27K. According to recent data, 517 tech companies have laid off over 152K workers so far in 2023.

Organ trafficking plot

Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu was found guilty of an organ-trafficking plot to bring a man to the U.K. to provide a kidney.

Jurors also found Ekweremadu’s wife and a Nigerian doctor guilty. Per prosecutors, the victim was brought to the U.K. under the guise of work to provide a kidney to Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia, via a private transplant at London’s Royal Free Hospital. The victim reportedly didn’t realize what was transpiring until he was at the hospital, and the operation never commenced after hospital staff became suspicious. Ekweremadu and the doctor admitted to falsely claiming that the victim was Sonia’s cousin in his visa application and in documents presented to the hospital.

Donating organs becomes criminal if a reward or other material gain is presented, which there was in this case. Yesterday’s verdicts mark the first time someone has been convicted of human trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting in the U.K.

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Quick Tips

Around the Globe

World Athletics Council bans transgender athletes from competing in the female category at international events starting on March 31st, according to a statement from council president Lord Coe (More)
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison for comments he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname at an election rally in 2019 (More)
Suspected fugitive South Korean crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon was detained in Montenegro yesterday, according to the country’s interior minister Filip Adzic (More)

On the Homefront

The U.S. reached an agreement with Canada that will allow both countries to turn away asylum seekers who cross their borders without authorization; the deal will reportedly also allow for the closure of an unofficial border crossing at Roxham Road on the New York-Quebec border (More)
Five cars attached to a freight train derailed on a line shared by CSX and Norfolk Southern near Ayer, Massachusetts; no toxins or hazardous chemicals were present in the derailed cars, according to local officials (More)
The suspect accused of carrying out a Colorado high school shooting on Wednesday was found dead of an apparent suicide near his vehicle in Park County, per local reports (More)

Glitz & Games

The 95th Oscars drew an average audience of 19.9M total viewers after seven days of viewing across linear and digital platforms, according to ABC (More)
New York Yankees top the list of most valuable baseball franchises at $7.1B, according to Forbes; the figure marks an 18% increase from 2022 (More)
Amazon has set a release date for its first original African movie called Gangs of Lagos on April 7th; the film marks the first Nigerian original feature to launch on Prime Video (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market closed higher, with the Nasdaq leading gains (Dow +0.23%, Nasdaq +1.01%, S&P 500 +0.30%)
Walmart announces it is laying off about 200 workers at five of the company’s eCommerce fulfillment centers across the U.S. (More)
Shares of payment company Block (NYSE: SQ) closed more than 14% lower after short-seller Hindenburg Research announced it has taken a position against the company (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Watch the moment that five students in Ukraine receive the news that they will receive full scholarships to study at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College thanks to a donation from alumni Sam Rose
Sneak Peek: Check out the official trailer for the upcoming film Big Shark from the mind of Tommy Wiseau, who wrote, produced, directed, and acted in The Room, a now-cult-followed film described by several publications as one of the worst movies ever made
Bump This: Juice WRLD’s posthumous single “The Light” evokes the late rapper’s melodic sensibilities over nostalgic backing tracks - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Nerd Out: Read about the East African Rift System, one of the largest rifts in the world that’s slowly splitting the continent of Africa into two separate landmasses…and may eventually give way to a vast new ocean in between
Chow Down: Spring is officially here, along with a changing variety of fresh produce - take advantage of the new arrivals at your local market with this recipe for a grilled spring salad that’s perfect for a light weekend lunch
Game On: Much to the delight of millennial gamers everywhere, Resident Evil 4–a remake of the original 1996 game–comes out today - check out the first 17 minutes of gameplay and marvel at the eerily realistic graphics
Life Hack: For some tips on longevity, why not get advice directly from the source? Take a look at these five tips for leading a long, happy life from two sisters who are both over 103 years old

Tip-Offs

Mapping out the states most devoted to their dogs.

…and listing each country’s most expensive Airbnb.

Watch a food scientist break down what’s in an Oreo.

Find out how much it costs to fly to space one time.

…and the realities of what it takes to build a moon base.

Vintage photos of New York City’s roller disco era.

From Lisbon to Lima, this year’s best places to travel.

What researchers found within a lock of Beethoven’s hair.

Looking Back…

On March 24th: The Exxon Valdez oil spill creates the then-largest oil spill in U.S. history when the tanker runs aground (1989); over 75 Allied prisoners attempt an escape from a POW camp in Sagan, Germany (1944); the film Wuthering Heights starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier premieres in Los Angeles (1939); actor Steve McQueen is born (1930).

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